Catalunya produces a leading novillero
A cultural freedom demand for Catalunya from young Vilau at the Sanlúcar de Barrameda novillada (Image from www.diarioarea.com)
The Catalan novillero Mario Vilau has won the final of Spain’s Liga de Novilladas at Sanlúcar de Barrameda that brought together the triunfadores of la Liga’s certamenes of Extremadura (Tomás Bastos), Madrid (Álvaro Serrano), Andalucía (Carlos Tirado) and Valencia (Vilau) together with a Castilla y León finalist, Ruiz de Velasco, substituting for the injured Julio Norte.
Facing bulls of Fuente Ymbro, all the novilleros performed well except for Carlos Tirado, who came across as the more inexperienced of the five. A generous approach to award giving was set after the death of the first novillo, when Tomás Bastos’ faena de más a menos was accorded two ears. Serrano and de Velasco picked up an ear apiece, but the clear winner was Vilau, who managed a complete and consistently good lidia to win two ears and a tail. His novillo was also awarded a vuelta en arrastre.
Bullfighting has been prohibited in Catalunya for the last 13 years (illegally as far as Spain’s constitution is concerned), so how did the 18-year-old, born at Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona), become a torero? Vilau told mundotoro.com that, as a young boy, he lived with an uncle in a village near Castellón de la Plana, became interested in bous al carrer and then, later, saw bullfights on television. He enrolled in La Escola Taurina de Catalunya under the tutelage of the Catalan matador Enrique Guillén, debuted with picadors last September at Mejorada del Campo, and has appeared in 19 novilladas since, his triumphs this year including appearances at Céret, Íscar and Algemesí.
In September 2024, with a successful temporada sin picadores behind him, Vilau described his situation living in Catalunya as follows: “You feel a bit isolated. When you're involved in the world [of los toros], meeting people and making friends, you feel somewhat detached. It's complicated to be with other novilleros; I would like to train more with them, but it's difficult. I would like to live the life they live.”
So, how are things one year on? “It’s been a year in which I’ve had the opportunity to make myself known and in which many people have noticed me because of the good image I’ve projected,” says Mario. “I always aim to be seen driving forward, but with serenity, toreando with a lot of truth so that people feel it. I’m filled with responsibility because, you know, there are many Catalan aficionados behind me. All the aficionados who seemed to be gone are coming out into the light again. It's very beautiful that all of them are coming to give their all again for the bull, to fight, and to defend what they love. That they do this with me is a huge thrill.”
Mario Vilau in a derechazo during the La Liga final (Image from corridasi.com)